


Searching to Find a Way

by RealityXIllusion



Category: Shazam! (2019)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Billy & Freddy Friendship, Billy Batson deserves a Family, Billy Batson protection squad, Billy cares too much, Bullies, Child Abandonment, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Dreams and Nightmares, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Found Family, Freddy worries, Gen, He doesn't show it, Homelessness, Huddling For Warmth, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Marilyn has a abusive boyfriend, Mild Blood, Misunderstandings, Mrs.Hartley is the Social Worker, Panic Attacks, Running Away, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Esteem Issues, Separation Anxiety, Shazam! (2019) Spoilers, Superpowers, cursing, hurt billy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-01-31 14:25:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18593101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RealityXIllusion/pseuds/RealityXIllusion
Summary: Having to deal with the possibility of facing his mother once more, on top of a misunderstanding at the Vasquez household, Billy feels as though he isn't wanted anywhere. He should've known better by now than to get his hopes up, after all, who'd want someone like him?





	1. Rolling Downhill

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Shazam, but recently saw the movie and absolutely fell in love with the story. All of the children need to be protected and Rosa, and Victor given a medal for being the best parents out there.

Coming to Fawcett city, meeting Rosa and Victor Vasquez and their foster kids, Mary, Pedro, Darla, and Freddy was all outside of anything he could've prepared himself for. Honestly, it felt like something out of a fairy tale. Distracting himself with learning about his powers to figuring out how the others getting Shazam’s abilities worked had been enough to keep him from thinking about what happened.

It was one thing to go around believing that no matter where they sent him he always had his mother waiting for him somewhere. It was another thing entirely to learn that she had willingly left him behind, that not once in the past 10 years he spent looking for her had she bothered looking for him.

Now, now he knew where she was, within walking distance of a family that claims to actually want him? It was too good to be true, Billy knew it had to be. There was no way Victor or Rosa would want him if they knew how he’d almost gotten their kids killed or how much trouble he is to keep around.

He survived this long without a mom, without a family. He doesn't need a family he's perfectly fine on his own. Despite knowing that Billy still finds himself hanging around the Vasquez household. Things would be better for all of them if he left but he couldn't bring himself to leave.

It's been a little over two weeks since the fight with the seven deadly sins.

Sadly, that choice of staying or leaving was made for him as a visit from his social worker while the others weren’t home ended with her telling him that since his mother had been found, he was still in her custody unless she signs him over to the foster care system.

Billy could tell from the way his social worker smiled at him that she believed he didn’t know about his mom living so close to his current location, she thought she was about to take him back to his mom for a long-awaited reunion. Only Billy knew better.

He knew that his mother wanted nothing to do with him. It took him almost an hour of pacing before he finally managed to blurt out how he'd known about his mother and admitted to his social worker that his mom couldn't afford to take him in now.

An excuse was better than saying out loud that she didn't want him.

Of course, his social worker immediately demanded a more thorough explanation. Knowing that this could take longer than he'd like it too, Billy had asked Mrs. Hartley if he could just speak with her tomorrow. She agreed after asking him to let Rosa and Victor know that she would be picking him up tomorrow morning to discuss everything with him.

Billy could only hope that come tomorrow morning, he would manage to keep the truth of what happened between his mother and him a secret from the others. While Eugene may have been the one to find his mom for him, Billy had lied to them all and told them that he didn’t get to go speak with her before the fight went down. In the end, they all assumed he was putting off talking to her, more than once Billy found himself confronted by Freddy about it or Mary not so subtly trying to encourage him to call her. Even Pedro and Eugene tried convincing him to go see her.

He didn't realize how badly they all wanted him gone, but it was obvious that they were getting impatient with him.

He could clearly remember the night after the battle how Darla had dragged him into her room before bedtime and cried, telling him that if he left her then she’d be upset to lose a brother but understood if he wanted to see his mom. Billy had wanted to break down then and there, he wanted to cry with Darla, he wanted to assure her that he wasn’t going anywhere.

But he couldn’t. He couldn’t make a promise like that when he wasn’t even sure if he was staying. It would be better for them all if he left, he was just an intruder in their home.

Just because he had powers now, that didn’t change anything with his foster situation. He was still a reckless kid, constantly getting into fights, and just becoming an overall burden on anyone who took him in. Victor and Rose deserved better.

Biting his lip, Billy just managed to school his features as the front door open and Rosa walked inside carrying a couple of bags of groceries.

“Oh!” Rosa smiled, “Billy sweetheart, would you mind helping get the rest of the groceries? I don't want Pedro to try grabbing them all himself.”

“Sure thing Rosa,” Billy smiled awkwardly, still uncomfortable with greeting her or Victor so openly.

He quickly eased past her and joined Pedro out by the van. Pedro barely spared him a glance as he tried to grab all of the bags at once, Billy had to practically wrestle a few bags from him which resulted in Pedro glaring at him.

More than a little shocked by the way Pedro was treating him, Billy stood there frozen as he quickly snatched the bags out of his hands and headed into the house.

After taking a moment to regain his composure Billy silently made his way back into the house pausing, just outside the kitchen as he heard Rosa speaking.

"....oh, I'm so sorry hijo, I shouldn't have sent Billy out to you."

Lips pressed into a thin line to keep from saying anything, Billy spun on his heel and quickly made his way upstairs. Trying his best not to let the creaking of the stairs get too loud and alert them to him being there.

He didn't want to speak with them.

Freddy was still at the comic book store with Darla and Eugene, Mary should be picking them up after her studying session at the library. That left Billy with at most three more hours before he had to deal with any of the others. Perhaps when they get home Freddy could help him figure out just what he did to make Pedro mad at him.


	2. Sleep Tight

Even Freddy was avoiding him. Then again it was possible that whatever he had done to piss off Pedro could have annoyed Freddy as well. However, Billy couldn't come up with a reason why Darla wouldn't even hug him let alone speak with him anymore.

He wasn't exactly a touchy-feely person in the first place but for some reason being ignored by Darla had hurt worse than he thought it had the right too. He was used to Eugene and Mary not paying much attention to him after all Eugene was always busy playing his games and Mary was getting ready for graduation on top of college soon.

Which was why when everyone was home and he still had time to kill before dinner, Billy made his way out into the backyard and sat out there, staring up at the sky until the daylight faded away.

Shortly after it getting dark out, Billy startled as he heard his name being called. Sitting up from where he laid down on the slightly damp grass, Billy saw Victor wave him inside before closing the backdoor and moving off. Billy hesitated, he knew he had to go inside otherwise the others would get upset with him but… he didn’t want to face Victor or Rosa when he still had to tell them about Mrs. Hartley coming to get him tomorrow morning.

Discussing his social worker as right up there on the list of not something he liked to talk about with other people, that list also including his mom.

It was after a minute or two had passed and Billy saw the others all filing into the kitchen that he stood up and dusted off his pants. He walked slowly in an attempt to prolong the inevitable. The moment he walked inside, Billy noticed how Victor and Darla were the only ones to look in his direction.

He guessed Pedro was still mad and the others were all still avoiding him. 

Seconds after sitting at the table, Rosa walked in carrying a few large platters with steaming enchilada’s on them and bowls of fried rice with different sauce bottles which she set down on the table.

“Alright, everybody! Hands on Deck!”

What stood out to him the most was not once during dinner when everyone put their hands in the middle did anyone look at him. Usually, Rosa or Victor would try and meet his eyes and Freddy had a habit of kicking his leg to get him to put his hand in the middle. Billy may have done it the night after the fight with Sivana but that was just because he was glad they were all still alive. Only during dinner that night not once did any of them look at him or try talking to him, it was enough to make him lose his appetite.

Another thing none of them seemed to notice until after most of them had left the room and Rosa began cleaning up and saw that his plate was filled.

"Billy?" Rosa's brow furrowed, "Is everything, alright sweetheart? Did you not like the enchiladas?"

“A-Ah, no. they were… they’re fine, I’m just not feeling too good,” Billy lied, trying his best to ignore the swell of guilt that flared as Rosa’s mouth turned downwards.

Rosa immediately moved around the table to his side and lifted her hand to Billy’s forehead, Billy fought down the instinctive urge to flinch. “...You do feel a bit clammy… Head on up to bed then, we can’t have you getting sick! Especially cause of tomorrow.”

Billy recoiled the moment Rosa finished speaking, “You…  You know about tomorrow?”

“Of course!” Rosa smiled brightly, “Victor and I knew for a while now, we’re very excited.”

Did they know about his mom? They apparently knew about Mrs. Hartley coming to get him… and they were excited about it? 

Billy’s hands shook as he stood up from the table, “Sorry. I, uh, I’m going to head upstairs now.”

Not waiting for a response, Billy turned and bolted up the stairs only slowing down once he reached the door to his and Freddy’s bedroom. Walking into the room, Billy noticed how Freddy was sitting at his desk and had immediately hidden something in one of the drawers as soon as Billy walked in.

“What’s that?” Billy asked, quickly moving over to his side of the dresser and pulling out a set of pajamas. 

“Nothing!” Freddy smiled nervously, his eyes darting away from Billy, “It’s uh, it’s nothing important. It’s literally a useless piece of paper.”

Billy paused with the loose t-shirt halfway over his chest. Freddy was lying to him. “Right. I’m just… going to turn in early.”

Billy finished changing in record timing and made his way up into the top bunk. Completely oblivious to Freddy’s confused gaze on him the entire time. He pulled the blanket up over his head to block out the lamplight, listening intently as Freddy moved. Apparently finished with whatever it was he had been doing before Billy came in, the light flicked off and Billy laid there in the dark as Freddy shuffled his way over to the door. He watched him leave the room, leaving Billy in complete darkness as he did so.

He had a chance… he could easily get up look in the drawer and be back in bed before Freddy even made it back to the room only… only Billy couldn’t bring himself to get up. If Freddy wanted to lie and keep something hidden from him then fine, it wasn’t like Billy didn’t have his fair share of secrets none of them knew about.

Twisting and turning around in his bed, Billy struggled to find a comfortable enough position to fall asleep in. He couldn’t help but notice how Freddy had yet to come back and that the room seemed all the more empty without him there.

Frustrated with his inability to fall asleep, Billy flung the covers off of himself and lept down from the top bunk. Only pausing to listen and see if anyone would come running due to the resounding thunk that followed him jumping to the floor.

No one came.

Billy snatched his bag off the back of the bedroom door, the hanger wobbling as he pulled to harshly. His breath came out in huffs as he moved throughout the bedroom, grabbing his stuff and pushing it all into his bag. Thankfully he hadn’t gained too many things since arriving at the Vasquez’s, only a few new shirts, a pair of pants and a few comics but Billy left the comics on Freddy’s desk, mixed in with the ones already there.

The comics weren’t a necessity, though he knew he would miss them, Billy also knew that if he went to his mom only to immediately go to a new foster home then he shouldn’t bring them. They’d just be taken away from him anyway, this way Freddy could have a few new ones to add to his collection.

Eventually, as time passed, and he finished packing away his things Billy found himself yawning as he climbed back into the top bunk. Falling into a restless sleep dreading what tomorrow would bring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep thinking of how much anguish I can put Billy through and I'm sitting here like, should I do it all in this story?


	3. Farewell

Due to going to bed so early last night, Billy found himself waking up before what seems like anyone else. Freddy was still passed out in his bed and when Billy walked through the hallway he could hear Pedro snoring and Darla's occasional muttering in her sleep. He assumed that meant Mary and Eugene were still asleep as well.

For once it seems as though things were in his favor. At least now he could carry his bag downstairs without any of the other seeing it. Though he had a feeling they couldn't care less even if they did see him bringing his stuff downstairs. Darla might've cared at least, but Billy knew that she would just end up forgetting him in the next few weeks anyway.

It wasn't like he was exactly a good brother towards her or even nice in general.

Billy tiptoed his way downstairs, avoiding the step that always creaks no matter how you moved on it. He set his bag down by the front door, glancing outside he noticed how the van was gone which meant Victor or Rosa weren't home, or the both of them.

It was for the best, after all, he didn't think he'd be able to say goodbye to them without possibly tearing up. He knew how it was going to go had they been there.

Rosa and Victor would be upset to see him go, tossing out apologies, almost pleading with his social worker to let him stay. Up until Mrs. Hartley actually asks if they would consider taking him back afterward, he knew his mom wouldn't keep him, at which point Victor and Rosa would say the same thing that all of his other foster parents said.

That they were sorry but they didn't think they would be able to handle him staying any longer, or maybe they would use the excuse of him taking up too much room, or even go as far as to blame their living expenses on him. Regardless of what they said, Billy knew the drill. It was once and done with him.

They kept him around the first time now he was to be someone else's problem.

The creaking of the steps had Billy's head snapping up, staring as Freddy slowly made his way downstairs. Seemingly not even realizing that Billy was sitting on the couch in the living room. By the time Freddy made it all the way down and finally looked over his way, Billy was still frozen to the spot.

"Billy!"

Freddy practically lit up, his lips pulling back into a smile so wide it practically covered his entire face. Billy's heart clenched, was he really that happy to see him leaving?

His smile dimmed the longer Billy stayed silent, however, before either of them could even say a word honking from outside interrupted the both of them.

"What?"  Freddy's face twisted in confusion as he turns his head towards one of the front windows, "Who's here this early?"

Billy stood up stiffly, shouldering his lone bag as he walked past Freddy towards the front door.

"Hey!" Freddy's hand flung out, grabbing hold of Billy's wrist and keeping him from moving any further.

Freddy's eyes flicker down to Billy's bag before darting up trying to meet his eyes, "Billy? You, uh, you going somewhere?"

Billy snorted, yanking his arm away from Freddy and winced as it caused him to stumble. For a brief moment, Billy was terrified that Freddy was actually going to fall down, but Freddy managed to regain his balance at the last second. Shooting Billy a glare as he did so.

Billy returned Freddy's glare with a blank look, "Sorry. Mrs. Hartley said she was coming early."

He couldn't just be quiet about his leaving? Was Freddy really going to complain about Billy making too much noise leaving this early in the morning? Did he really have to make this that much harder on him? Out of all of them, thinking back on everything they've gone through Billy supposed Freddy had the most reason to want him gone.

Even though it hurt to admit that.

He guessed it was just his wishful thinking that got him to believe that out of all of them Freddy would be the one who wanted him to stay.

"Who's Mrs. Hartley?" Freddy shifted so that all of his weight went on leaning against a stair railing.

Billy didn't even notice the panicked look in Freddy's eyes as he glanced past Billy at the front door.

Billy gritted his teeth as he responded, "My social worker. Relax, she's probably not coming in so you don't have to worry about her making much noise." Billy scoffed bitterly, "Your parents aren't here so I guess just tell them I said thanks for letting me stay for a bit or whatever."

Freddy's eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open. Gaping at him like a fish but Billy didn't wait around to see if Freddy would get mad at him for seeming ungrateful towards Victor and Rosa. He was grateful towards some but... He was also glad they weren't there. Billy took off running out the front door, flinching as Freddy yelled after him to wait a minute but Billy didn't hesitate. He knew if he stopped then he wouldn't have the strength to start moving again. His eyes stung as he ran down the driveway towards Mrs. Hartley's parked car.

She looked slightly startled to see him come storming out of the house but Billy quickly clamored into the backseat keeping his head down the whole time.

Twisting around in his seat, Billy glanced back towards the house and was startled to see Darla and the others all standing outside with Freddy. Billy's eyes met Freddy's and for the first time in years Billy felt his eyes watering. His chest felt oddly hollow as Darla took off running after the car, she seemed to be screaming something but Billy couldn't hear a word. Eventually, as the car began to pick up speed he watched as Mary caught up to Darla and stopped her from chasing after the car anymore.

Swallowing past a lump in his throat, Billy slowly turns back around and stared down at his lap. If Mrs. Hartley could hear him sniffling in the backseat she gave no indication as she continued driving.

She started saying something about stopping somewhere to get breakfast and them needing to talk but Billy knew it was just putting off the inevitable.

He was going to go see his mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think about two more chapters before the fun really begins.


	4. Food for Thought

For the most part, the car ride stayed silent, the only form of noise is from the radio which seemed to play the same song on repeat. At first, she tried speaking to him but Billy made sure to shoot down any attempt at the conversation she made. He wasn't in the mood to talk though he knew he would have to soon. He couldn't stop thinking about the others. Mrs. Hartley took them to some sort of donut shop. Billy didn't pay much attention to where they were going, he just wished she would hurry up and tell him whatever it was she needed to tell him so that he could get this all over with.

He had told his mom that he was happy, that he was staying with a family that wanted him and cared for him. He didn’t realize at the time that it would actually turn out to be a lie. He had hoped… after seeing his mom and realizing the truth, he had hoped that he had a place with the Vasquez household…. When he told her he had a family, he had been telling the truth.

What was he supposed to say to her now? That he had screwed up? That he ruined his chances at having a family with brothers and sisters because he was a mess, to begin with? That any feeling of belonging or even a budding friendship with the others had all been something he made up without even realizing it?

It certainly hadn't been the first time he's done that. Though he knew then and there that it would be the last time he let it happen.

He kept his mouth shut as she pulled into the parking lot, The donut shop itself seemed small with the sidings falling apart and one of the front windows seemingly cracked. Unlike the other buildings around it, the donut shop was painted a somewhat dull yellow and seemed to be made of a strange mix of bricks and cement rather than metal and glass like every other building he had seen on the way there. Silently, just as the car came to a stop, Billy opened his door and stepped out reluctantly leaving his bag in the back seat.

There wasn't anyone outside and he couldn't see into the shop since there had been curtains pulled down over the windows. The only indication that the shop was open was the blinking lights and all the cars in the parking lot.

"-illy. Billy!"

His head jerked up as Mrs. Hartley reached over and grasped his shoulder, having gotten out of the car and made her way over to him without him even realizing it, “Billy, come on, Let’s head in, we can eat while we talk. It may not look like much, but I've eaten here a few times, their food is pretty good.”

Scowling, Billy shrugged her hand off of him and took off towards the donut shop while she shut off the car. He didn't need her treating him like he was helpless, he could see it in her eyes ever since he told her the truth about his mom. She pitied him.

Once inside he froze in the middle of the entrance way, the place was packed but not a single person looked his way. That didn't make him any less anxious to be inside, his eyes scanned the shop searching for an empty seat. The only place that had enough space for him and Mrs. Hartley had been the stools up at the counter. Slowly he made his way over there, sliding into a seat and shrugging off his jacket to play sit on the stool next to him. He may have run inside without her but he wasn't going to force her to find a seat if someone had taken the spot next to him.

After a few minutes had passed Billy looked behind him at the entrance as the bell above the door rang. He watched as Mrs. Hartley's eyes roamed throughout the shop before they landed on him. Her lips turn down into a frown as she made her way over to him, Billy shrugged and turned back towards the waitress that had been waiting for his order.

Mrs. Hartley should be used to him running off by now.

Thankfully she didn't say a word, she sat down next to him and smiled at the waitress.

The waitress grinned widely, "Vanessa! Haven't seen you in here in a couple of weeks, how have you been? This kid one of yours?"

"Kristina it's always nice to see you again," Mrs. Hartley smiled, "Sorry, I've been a bit busy with work lately. If you could get us two of the regular number three's please?"

Billy sighed, some part of him had been worried that she would flat out tell the waitress he was just some foster kid. He hated the looks he'd get any time someone realized he was a foster kid, so what if he was? It wasn't like he had asked to become one.

Mrs. Hartley watched Kristina walk off for a moment before she turns towards him. Her smile quickly replaced with a frown, "You can't just run off on me like that Billy. You didn't even look both ways, what if you had been hit by a car!"

"I wasn't going to get hit!"

"How would you know?" Mrs. Hartley crossed her arms over her chest, "I'm serious Billy you can't do that you could have gotten seriously hurt."

Seemingly realizing that the conversation wasn't going anywhere, Miss Hartley shook her head at Billy before changing the subject, "...Okay. so we're going to have to head over to your mom's apartment soon. I have all the paperwork with me and I'll answer any questions she has or any that you have once we're there."

"We're going already?"

"Well, I haven't eaten my eggs or my bacon yet so we are definitely going to wait a few minutes give or take."

Both of them lapsed into silence, not entirely awkward but not comfortable either, and neither of them saying another word until Kristina finally came back carrying two large platters of food. The sheer amount of sealant on the plate had Billy's eyes grew wide, though the smell alone had his mouth watering.

Suddenly going to the donut shop, which he was surprised even served breakfast foods, didn't seem like such a bad idea. He didn't pay any attention to the rest of the people in the shop nor Mrs. Hartley as he started shoveling hash browns into his mouth. He didn't get a chance to eat before Mrs. Hartley picked him up and his hunger decided to make itself known by his stomach growling loudly.

He felt his face heat up as Kristina, who has apparently decided to stay there to talk with Mrs. Hartley, began to laugh. He kept his head down, overly aware of their eyes on him as he slowly began to eat again. There's only after all of his hash browns were gone and a few strips of bacon that Mrs. Hartley cleared her throat. Glancing over at her Billy was surprised to see that her entire plate was cleared and Kristina was nowhere to be seen.

Mrs. Hartley smirked, gesturing at her plate, "What can I say the foods good here. Can you blame me?"

Billy felt his lips twitch upwards at that before growing serious as Mrs. Hartley continued looking at him.

"If your mother isn't home then I'll drive you back to the Vasquez household and we can try again tomorrow. There isn't a number on file for her so I'll just leave a note in the mailbox if possible."

"So what? We're going to just show up suddenly and ask my mom if she'll put me up for adoption because she do-" Billy cut himself off remembering at the last second that Mrs. Hartley thought his mom had abandoned him because she couldn't afford to take care of a kid, "Because she doesn't make enough money to take care of me? Didn't she already do that though, besides, aren't I too old now to be adopted? Who the hell would want to adopt a 14-year-old kid."

Why were they even talking about this? He didn't want to keep talking about this, it was hard enough mentioning what really happened that day at the fair. All he wanted was to finish eating his food in peace, even if his appetite was quickly diminishing. He didn't want to keep having to bring up that memory by talking about his mom even if Mrs. Hartley seemed to think it would do him some good.

“While putting a child up for adoption when you are already fourteen is a tad… rare. It’s not exactly unheard of,” Mrs. Hartley smiled sadly, “Afterwards, once your mother manages to find a better job to look after the both of you then you'll be able to go back to living with her permanently. You’ll have to stay with your mother for now, at least until we get the paperwork all sorted out but afterward-”

“Afterwards you’ll just send me off to another foster family until they decided they don’t want me anymore,” Billy cut in, stubbornly refusing to give any thought to the idea of his mom taking him back if he could just find a way to bring in money for her, “Right?”

“Actually, I was thinking maybe you could go back to the Vasquez’s?” Mrs. Hartley quirked a brow, “From what I heard over the past two weeks, Victor and Rosa seem to really like you. Plus, you haven’t taken off, so I’m guessing you like them too? I'm sure they won't have any issues with you keeping in contact with your mother.”

“They don’t want me. They were willing to put up with me because they knew I wouldn’t be there for long,” Billy stabbed his fork into his eggs, suddenly not hungry anymore, “Why can’t I become an emancipated minor? Aren’t I old enough?”

Mrs. Hartley sighs heavily, “Billy… ok. Do you want to know how to become an emancipated minor? Fine, you automatically become one if you’re married or in the military, neither of which applies to you. Otherwise, for the state of Philadelphia at least you have to be not living with either parent, not under their control whatsoever and you must be at least sixteen. Billy, you’re only fourteen, you aren’t old enough to be out on your own and you don’t have a job or a degree.”

He gritted his teeth as he thought over everything Mrs. Hartley said, it was just two years, why did he have to wait two more years? He was more than capable of taking care of himself. Even if Billy Batson wasn’t able to get a job… Shazam looked like an adult, if he was Shazam then he could live on his own…

“Billy I’m sorry,” Mrs. Hartley waved her hand through the air, getting Kristina’s attention, “Could we get a box over here, please? And the check, please.”

Confused by the sudden rush, Billy glanced over at the clock hanging on the wall and was somewhat shocked to see that it was already nearing one. They’d been sitting there for a little over four hours now.

“I have all the paperwork that your mom needs to fill out,” Mrs. Hartley stood up, taking the offered box from Kristina before setting it by Billy’s plate, “Thank you, Kristina, Billy put your food in there. You barely ate anything so you can just save it for later.”

His body seemed to move on its own, placing all of his food into the styrofoam box and swallowing past the lump that formed in his throat. All his mind could seem to think of at the moment was the fact that he was about to go see his mother who probably didn't even want to see him let alone talk to him.

This was not going to end well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The donut shop is based off an actual shop I've gone to before which had all sorts of food and weird donuts. It was amazing.  
> Also, it's while I'm writing this that I'm starting to realize just how much I hate Billy's mom for abandoning him. Look what she did, the boys' got issues!


	5. Same old, Same old

He sat in the back of the car with his head bowed and fighting back the sudden bout of nausea that threatened to show a repeat of what he’d eaten earlier. It was fine, everything was fine only… it wasn't fine.

Nothing about this was fine.

He couldn't do this. His stomach was twisting itself into knots and nothing he did to calm it down worked for him. His mouth had gone dry the moment they left the shop and no amount of drinking the water Mrs. Hartley handed him seemed to work.

He tried to stay quiet, keeping himself hunched over with a hand over his mouth to muffle his heavy breathing. Sadly, he wasn’t being as quiet as he had hoped. He could hear Mrs. Hartley’s sharp gasp before the car suddenly slowed down and swerved to the side. Billy dug his nails into his palms as the quick movement caused his stomach to lurch. He almost threw up then and there but Billy quickly clamped his mouth shut and swallowed a few times to keep it down.

He glanced up, staring while Mrs. Hartley got unbuckled and climbed out of the car. It was only as she turned towards him and began to open the other back door that Billy realized she was trying to get into the backseat with him.

Billy takes the chance presented to him when Mrs. Hartley fumbled with the handle to fling open to car door on his side, her head snapped up and they locked eyes for a brief moment before Billy looked away. He snatched up his bag and hesitantly glanced at Mrs. Hartley before looking out his open door. He clearly had two choices here… he could stay, and let Mrs. Hartley take him to his mom or he could leave now before she’d get the chance to corner him.

So Billy did what he does best. He ran.

He could hear Mrs. Hartley shouting after him, but her voice was nothing more than a fly buzzing around by his ear. Eventually, her shouts faded away to mere whispers the further he ran from her. He couldn’t focus on his surroundings, it felt as though pins and needles were going through his legs, making him stumble as he rounded the corner. His hands were sweaty and more than once he almost dropped his bag but just managed to regain his grip at the last second.

Some of the people he ran past tried reaching out to him, others made sure to avoid his path but they all watched as he ran. He could feel every last one of their eyes boring into him. Billy couldn’t understand it. No one's ever bothered to look his way before, so why now when he just wanted to vanish did everyone suddenly start seeing him?

A dip in the sidewalk sent Billy sprawling across the cement.

A Hispanic woman appeared in front of him, her hand reaching out as though to help him up.

“N-No…” Billy gasped, feeling as though his windpipe was closing up on him.

It was hard to breathe, the struggle to get air into his lungs turning into a painful reminder of when Sivana had held his head under the water at the Carnival. Scrambling to his feet, ignoring the stinging in his palms and his knees, Billy turned and ran faster than before.

He had to go down an alleyway to avoid running back into Mrs. Hartley. At the end of the alleyway, there was a fence blocking his exit, his fingers were numb to the cold of the metal pressing into his skin as he climbed over. It was only once he was up top that Billy slipped as his sneaker got caught in a section at the top.

“Whoa!” Billy yelped as he fell face forward off the fence, it was only because his foot had stayed stuck that he didn’t fall all the way and possibly crack his skull open on the concrete.

It was as he hung there, forced to stay still or risk falling, that Billy began to catch his breath. It took far longer than he was used to for his heart to stop beating away so frantically in his chest. He needed to get down, and he couldn’t use Shazam to do it. If he did then everyone would see the lightning strike and come running, what would they think if they saw their superhero hanging upside down in an alleyway?

Gritting his teeth Billy swung himself once, twice, three times before he gained enough momentum to reach up and grab ahold of his shoe. Panting heavily but not wanting to waste time to stop to catch his breath, Billy struggles with the knit in his shoelaces before giving up as they refused to budge.

Instead he stuck his fingers down by the sole and forced his foot to slip out of the shoe. It was thanks to his quick reflexes that he grabbed ahold of the fence as he found himself flipping over without his shoe holding him in place. Gulping, Billy slowly let go of the fence and dropped down to the ground. He glanced up at the sneaker and debated for a moment on how he could get it down, but was forced to look away as shouts came from the opposite end of the alleyway.

Tensing up, Billy slowly made his way towards the noise. Frowning in disgust as his sock sunk into a puddle only looking away as the shouts grew louder.

Ducking down by one of the trash cans, Billy peered around it. There was a group of three men, the one man obviously homeless, held his hands up in front of him in a peaceful gesture as the two other men crowded around him. The other two men seem to be laughing at the homeless guy, Billy's hands clenched by his side as one of the men suddenly push the homeless guy back against the wall.

The homeless man cried out, one of his hands coming up to grasp at the back of his head.

Biting his lip, Billy glanced around him before taking a deep breath and calling out, "Sha-!"

He snapped his mouth shut. He forgot for a moment there that he couldn't become Shazam. Not now when it would draw a crowd. If he wanted to help that guy, then it would have to be as plain old Billy Batson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I keep doing is thinking of all the horrible things I can make happen. If this keeps up then I might have to just make a different story. By the way, have any of you seen the Superman/Shazam VS the Black Adam?


	6. Intermission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freddy's point of view of events that have taken place thus far before switching back over to Billy in the Alleyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The change in perspective was odd after getting used to writing Billy, but it was still fun to try out. Next chapter will return to all Billy's POV though.

"Billy! Wait a minute!"

Freddy felt his heart speed up, beating rapidly in his chest as he watched Billy take off running out the front door. The moment the door slammed shut behind him it seemed as though the entire house had woken up with it. Freddy could hear his siblings moving throughout the house, getting out of their beds, and their bedroom doors opening.

The pounding of their footsteps across the hardwood floor was the only indication of them all rushing downstairs.

"Freddy?" Mary walked over towards him, her voice confused and slightly worried, "Freddy what's going on? Why were you screaming for Billy?"

"He's leaving!" Freddy pushed past Pedro and moved as fast as he could towards the front door, "His social worker she-she came and…"

"What?"

Darla ran past Freddy, flinging open the front door with the rest of them following after her.

“Billy!” Darla screamed her voice cracking before any of them could do anything she took off running after the car, “Billy! Billy come back! You can’t leave! Billy!"

Freddy stared through the car window, wishing that he could chase after the car as well. Instead, he was forced to stand there as his brother was taken away from them. Suddenly Billy twisted around to look out the back window and Freddy felt the air in his lungs vanish as his and Billy's eyes met.

He could only stand there, unable to bring himself to move as Darla continued to cry out, as Eugene began demanding Pedro to turn into his Shazam form and stop the car, as Mary hugged Darla to her chest with the both of them fighting back tears.

He couldn't do anything to keep Billy from leaving.

His breath stuttering, Freddy hastily made his way back into the house and over to the landline. It would've been quicker to use his cell but he had left it upstairs in his room. He had to call Victor and Rosa, he had too… he had to let them know…

His entire body trembling, Freddy's cane gave out on him and he fell to the floor. Frustrated, he glared down at his forearm crutch.

"Stupid… stupid. Stupid!" Freddy cried out, his hand forming into a fist as he hit his crutch repeatedly.

"Freddy? Freddy stop!"

He looks up as Mary rushes towards him, setting a crying Darla down on the couch before bending to help him up. He stays quiet, keeping his gaze locked on the floor as he's helped over to the couch where he sits next to Darla. It's an automatic reaction when she leans over and hugs him that he wraps his arms around her as well.

“What were you trying to do?” Eugene frowned, his eyes automatically going back towards the front door.

“I,” Freddy cleared his throat, “I was trying to call Mom or Dad… they… they don’t know…”

Pedro walked around the couch, shaking his head as they all turned to look at him, “Getting my phone. I’ll call them.”

“Darla, come on,” Mary said softly as she peeled Darla’s arms from around Freddy’s middle, “Come upstairs with me.”

Silently, bar the occasionally sniffle as she kept on crying, Darla held her arms up to Mary who willingly picked her up. The two of them quickly made their way up the stairs leaving Freddy staring after them. Peering around the room, Freddy wasn’t shocked to see that Eugene had disappeared as well.

He sat there for a few minutes, lost in thought as he ran his fingers over his crutch. After everything they've been through, Freddy couldn't believe that Billy would just up and leave like that. Not without saying goodbye to everyone else.

Face set in determination, Freddy carefully stood up and made his way outside. It was still daylighted out so he needed to be careful. His movements were definitely sloppy but were quiet enough that no neighbors looked out of their homes and none of his siblings noticed his absence from the house.

Taking a deep breath, Freddy called out, “Shazam!”

The moment the lightning struck him, Freddy floated up into the air and flew off as soon as he noticed the curtains in Mary’s room pulling back. He couldn't risk any of the others trying to stop him, he knew there was a slight chance they would want to join him but he wasn't sure. He didn't want to take the chance, he needed to go find Billy.

He deserved an explanation. Why on earth didn't Billy tell him that he was leaving? They were best friends! Best friends tell each other everything, not to mention Freddy didn't care what Billy thought about it but he knew that they were brothers even if Billy did end up not living with them any longer.

He made sure to stay up high in the clouds. He was still able to look down into the streets and anytime he thought he saw Mrs. Hartley's car he would swoop down to glance inside.

So far that's just resulted in a fair amount of startled citizens and excited children waving at him.

He must have flown throughout the City five tines, constantly going back in free checking places he's gone before. He couldn't understand how he couldn't find them. If you remember correctly then Eugene said that Billy's mom lived nearby, he should have brought Eugene with him. He couldn't remember the exact address so he couldn't just show up plus he didn't want Billy to end up hating him if he ruined his reunion with his mother.

Once the sky grew dark, Freddy decided that he should start to head home. He didn't want to worry Victor and Rosa if they realized he was missing on top of Billy leaving.

Returning back to the house, unsure as to what he could do now. Freddy was surprised to see that Billy’s social worker had her car parked in the driveway. The heavy feeling that had been pressing down on his lungs all day lifted as he realized that she must’ve brought Billy back home. Full-on grinning, Freddy gently landed by the side of the house reaching over and gently digging his crutch out from beneath one of Rosa’s rose bushes.

“Shazam!” Once he had returned to normal, Freddy quickly strapped his crutch on and hobbled as fast as he could to the front door. He rushed to get inside.

He slowed to a stop as he heard Rosa’s voice, a tad hysterical, yelling from the kitchen.

“What do you mean he’s missing?!”

“I’m sorry Mrs. Vasquez, we were on our way to see his mother but when I pulled over because Billy was panicking he just took off.”

“His… His mother?”

“Billy didn’t tell you? I asked him yesterday to let both of you know that I was coming to get him this morning.”

Hearing Rosa’s sharp gasp quickly dissolve into a muffled cry of despair, Freddy with his heart leaping up into his throat, edged his way closer to the kitchen doorway. He could see Victor holding Rosa up as she clung to him.

“Rosa?” Victor spoke softly, “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“H-He tried too,” Rosa’s voice cracked, “Vic, Billy tried to talk to me about today! I-I thought he was asking me about his birthday… I didn’t know… I don’t know he meant this. I didn’t give him the chance to tell me! Victor, we have to find him. We need to find Billy, this was just a misunderstanding-!”

“We’ll find him, I know we will.” Victor glanced at Mrs. Hartley, “We’ll get our coats, can you show us where you last saw him?”

Mrs. Hartley nodded, “Yes. I, I’m sorry. If I knew then I would’ve made sure we waited until you two were home-”

“It’s not your fault,” Victor said, and Freddy wanted to storm into the room and yell at her that it was her fault. She was the one who was forced Billy to leave, “You were just doing your job. Although… I want to ask you something. Earlier, when you came here you told us that Billy panicked? What was he panicking about?”

Freddy tilted his head around the doorway, it was risky since if they turned their heads just a bit to the side then they would see him there, but Freddy wanted, no he needed to hear Mrs. Hartley’s response.

“I…” Mrs. Hartley shook her head, frowning, “We were almost at his mother's apartment but Billy… Billy started having a panic attack in the backseat. I pulled over to try and get him to calm down, I could see him digging his nails into his skin. Now, this isn’t the first time I’ve witnessed Billy having an episode like this but I remembered how bad they could get.”

Victor helped Rosa sit down in one of the kitchen chairs before pulling out a seat for himself. Rosa was leaning forward, her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands.

Mrs. Hartley sighed deeply, “...When I couldn’t find him, I called the police and let them know the situation. I thought there was a chance that Billy would try and go to his mom immediately, he’s been there before so he knew how to get there on his own. Only when I went to her apartment he wasn’t there. I spoke with his mother and…”

Rosa glanced up, “And?”

“I think it would be for the best if… if Billy stayed away from there. Normally since she has custody of him we would be required to have him stay with her unless certain conditions are met but… I don’t think it would be a safe place for him.”

Freddy froze. His palms were slick with sweat as his mind raced with everything he heard. What did Mrs. Hartley mean it wasn’t a safe place for him? When did Billy go see his mom? He told them that he never got the chance to head over there…

“You mean…” Rosa straightened up in her seat, the pure misery that had been painted over her face began to fade, “He can come back here? Billy can stay with us?”

Unable to take it any longer, Freddy quietly moved away from the doorway, over towards the stairs. He paused with one foot in the air as a horrible thought struck him. Gulping, Freddy glanced at the front windows to the outside world and couldn't help but wonder where Billy had run off to and hoped to god that he was alright.

He mainly hoped that Billy would come home.

* * *

 He wasn't even sure what he could do but… Billy knew he couldn't just stand there and watch someone get jumped.

"Hey, Assholes!

Billy quickly stood up, the two men immediately turning their attention towards him and Billy felt relieved when the homeless man took the opportunity of having the men's attention off of him and took off running out of the alleyway. He barely had time to return his attention to the men before one of them was suddenly right in front of him, swinging his fist at him.

Yelping, Billy dropped down to the ground, just barely dodging the punch aimed for his face. He quickly rolled to the side as the blond-haired man swung his foot at him, hitting Billy's thigh causing him to stop mid-roll and land on his back.

Billy glanced at the cruel smirk on his face before the blond arched his leg down as though stomping and the hit connected with his side. Billy bit his lip to keep from crying out, his teeth tearing through the skin as the man continued kicking him.

"You little shit," The other man, the one with the beard reached down and hauled Billy unsteadily to his feet, "What the hell's your issue, man? We were just having some fun."

"Does it matter? The geezer took off, just check if the kid has some cash on him."

Billy was glad he had left his bag by the trash cans but he still squirmed and fought to get away as the bearded man started searching through his pockets.

"Damnit! Hold the kid still!"

"Get off!" Billy yelled throwing his head back, gritting his teeth at the dull throbbing that formed as his head made contact with the blond man's chin.

"Hey!"

The air rushed out of his lungs as Billy found himself suddenly dropped to the ground. Turning his head, Billy stared at the homeless man as he stood at the end of the alleyway, not looking at any of them as he shouted.

"Come on! They're over here!"

Confused, Billy could only lay there as the two men bolted towards the fence, quickly climbing over it and jumping to the other side before they took off running. Slowly, he returned his attention to the homeless man just to find he was heading over towards him.

"Ya alright, Captain?" The homeless man grinned, reaching his hand out to Billy.

Billy eyed his hand warily, ignoring it in favor of pushing himself up to his feet. The movement hurt, especially his side where the bearded man kicked him but Billy was glad that nothing seemed to be broken.

It didn't feel broken at least.

Breath coming in pants, Billy looked down at his shoes to avoid meeting the homeless man's eyes, "Uh, thanks..."

"Now, none of that!" The homeless man chuckled, the noise-causing Billy to look up at him, "I should be thanking you, after all, you did go and get yourself beat up for me."

"They,.. they didn't beat me up-"

"Sure looks like they did."

Billy's face flushed, "T-That wasn't a beating, they barely even hit me."

The homeless man shook his head, "A hits still a hit. Whether it's a tiny little tap to a full-on punch, Captain."

“Why do you…” Billy cleared his throat, “Uh, Captain. Why.. Why do you keep calling me that?”

"Well," The homeless man grinned softly, "I guess it's cause like a Captain, you took charge of the situation and helped me out. Despite being a stranger and all."

Billy gaped at the homeless man, his mouth opening and closing before settling on just staying shut. He didn't know what to say, turns out he didn't need to say anything as on the other side of the fence he could hear Mrs. Hartley calling out for him.

Eyes growing wide with panic, Billy spun on his heel and snatched up his bag, waving goodbye to the homeless man before taking off at a jog. The pain in his side being more than enough to keep him from full-on sprinting away.

"Oi Captain!"

Hesitating, Billy paused at the mouth of the alleyway before glancing back towards the homeless man, who was smiling as he cupped his hands around his mouth and called out,

"The names Tawny! I owe ya one!"

Lips twitching, Billy continued onwards. He had no idea where he was going for now, but he supposed it didn't matter as long as he got away from there before Mrs. Hartley found him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congrats to all of you who guess what the misunderstanding was!  
> So the meet up with Tawny was similar to the one from Superman/Shazam VS The Black Adam but that's as far as the similarities with that movie goes. I just really wanted an excuse to write Billy meeting Tawny.


	7. Do what must be done

At some point during the night, it began to rain. Thick droplets came pouring from the sky by the thousands. The cold water stinging as he made contact with his skin.

Being off on his own in the streets wasn’t a new concept to Billy, he’d run from his fair share of foster homes and was stuck living on the street until the police caught him. However, that didn’t mean he had grown used to needing to find shelter from nature without running into other homeless people. Not all of the homeless in Fawcett city was bound to be as kind as Tawny seemed.

For the most part, no one paid any attention to a fourteen-year-old boy running through the rain with a bag held over his head. He supposed they all thought he was rushing to get home, not to get out of the rain before he was completely drenched and could get sick. Earlier in the day, he had seen lightning, Billy wasn’t sure though if it was heat lightning or the lightning striking one of the others as they turned into their Shazam counterparts.

A large part of him was worried that there had been an incident that needed the aid of heroes, and without him there one of the others could’ve gotten hurt. Since the lightning only struck once though, Billy assured himself that it was just the weather taking a turn.

In the end, after becoming thoroughly soaked by the rain, Billy managed to find an abandoned bookstore. The windows were boarded up and cobwebs all over the place, but there was no one else there. The area he was in felt shady, mainly due to the amount of yelling he's heard and the odds sounds of things being smashed. However, he's seen what the bad parts of a town looked like, this small part of Fawcett city was barely a third as scary as some places he's seen.

It would have to do.

Getting inside the building was relatively easy, there were two decent sized windows in the back of the store. One of the windows were broken, all he had to do was loosen one of the wooden boards covering the back window and unlatch the window it open it further. He cursed under his breath when crawling through resulted in bits of the broken glass that was unsurprisingly left there sticking to his clothes and some cutting into his skin as it pushed past the cloth.

“Crap,” Gently sliding the board back into place, Billy set down his bag before hesitantly peeling back his sleeves.

It wasn't as bad as he was worried it would be. There was no blood, just a few scratches left from the glasses edges that made it through his clothing. He knew they would fade within the next day or two, his legs were in the same state. Though a few scratches went deeper than the others on his knees, there was just a bit of blood pooling at the surface.

He peered around the store, there were broken bookcases and a few upturned chairs with papers scattered on the floor, but other than that it was empty. Sighing, Billy made his way over to the side furthest from any windows, picking up the parts of the bookcase and maneuvering it so that if anyone glanced inside they wouldn’t be able to see him.

It wouldn’t do him any good to get arrested for trespassing.

He quickly shrugged off his soaked jacket and sweatshirt leaving him in just an undershirt. He kept his shoes on in case he would need to leave in a hurry but make sure to keep his feet away from his bag and his other clothing. He may have already been soaked but that didn't mean he was comfortable getting the wet dirt from his shoes on to his clothes.

He gathered the less torn papers and piled them up on the floor in a makeshift pillow. Laying down on his back with his arms resting on his stomach, gently as too much pressure caused the pain from earlier to flare up again, Billy let his mind drift.

He couldn't stay there for long, he knew that but he could at least camp out for the night. After that… who knows. He'll figure something out. He always does. There was a chance Mrs. Hartley already contacted the local police and asked them to keep an eye out for him, if she did then he’d need to avoid going out in public until he knows what he’s going to do. 

Getting caught by the police or some passerby who decided to do a good deed for the day with the only result being him getting sent back to some new foster home or possibly his mothers. He couldn't decide which would be worse.

One thing he knew that Mrs. Hartley most likely did after giving up on chasing him was to go give his mom the papers to put him up for adoption. That was something she seemed intent on getting done.

He wasn't entirely sure on how to feel about that. On one hand, if by some unlikely miracle he managed to find a family that wants him then they would be able to adopt him. But on the other hand, if he wanted to make sure that his mom got those papers and sign them then he would need to go see her. That was something he couldn't bring himself to handle.

He assumed after convincing her that he had a foster family that he had been living with he wouldn't have to see her ever again. Though that thought had left him with an icy feeling washing over him, it also brought him a small sense of relief not to have to face her again. Only now as he knew he wouldn't have much choice in the matter if he wanted to get those papers, Billy was filled with dread as he made up his mind.

He would go and speak with his mother tomorrow, but for now, he might as well try and get some sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my head, I just keep picturing what's about to happen and then I realize that Billy more than likely is going to need to see a therapist... Eh, he had to see one, to begin with. I'm just making things worse before they can get better.

**Author's Note:**

> I have way too many plans for this, so we might be in this for the long run. Also, there won't be any romance in this, simply family fluff and angst.


End file.
